Darragh Downey1, Karen Elizabeth Davies1,
Shane McKie2, Gabriella Juhasz2, Ian Muir Anderson2,
John Francis William Deakin2, Stephen Ross Williams1
1Imaging Science and Biomedical
Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, Lancashire, United
Kingdom; 2Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of
Manchester, Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom
We
investigated adaptive changes in 5-HT signalling following sub-chronic
antidepressant treatment in healthy controls performing a response inhibition
paradigm. 24 healthy volunteers were provided with 20mg citalopram or placebo
for 11 days and tested with a behavioural inhibition task after 14 days
following a 3 day drug washout. Citalopram pre-treatment compared to placebo
was associated with a reduced response bilaterally in the inferior frontal
gyrus and BOLD increases in the right middle frontal gyrus, mid cingulate,
precuneus and posterior cingulate when inhibiting responses. These findings
suggest that chronic antidepressant treatment modifies 5-HT pathways involved
in cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control.